Too Many Dadgum Letters TMDLs and NPDES

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1 Too Many Dadgum Letters TMDLs and NPDES Vacation Pictures to Israel 2006 Scott I. McClelland Vice President October 17, 2012

2 Phase I MS4 Permits Elements of the Permit Authorized Discharges Stormwater Pollution Prevention and Management Programs Structural Controls New Development Roadways Flood Control Projects Municipal TSD Monitoring Requirements Reporting Requirements (Annual) Stormwater Discharge Compliance and Water Quality Standards (New) Pesticides, Herbicides Illicit Discharges Industrial and High Risk Construction Site Runoff Sea of Galilee

3 Changes to the MS4 Program in EPA (MS4 Permit Improvement Guide April 2010) Guidance document for NPDES MS4 Phase II permit writers but suggested for Phase I too Guide contains: examples of permit conditions recommendations to tailor the language Key Principles: Permit provisions should be clear, specific, measureable and enforceable Permits should contain a performance standard for postconstruction based on the objective of maintaining or restoring stable hydrology or another mechanism as effective. Should is becoming Must.

4 Changes to the MS4 Program in EPA (The Hanlon Memo) November 12, 2010 Memo: Hanlon to Water Management Division Directors for all Regions Revisions to 2002 Memo on Establishing TMDL Wasteload Allocations (WLAs) for Storm Water Sources & Permit Requirements Based on Those WLAs EPA recommends and encourages : Include numeric effluent limitations where feasible and numeric benchmarks for BMPs with associated monitoring for estimating BMP effectiveness Disaggregate stormwater sources in WLA Use surrogate for pollutant parameters for TMDLs Designate additional sources for regulation

5 How are these recommendations on TMDLs being implemented in TMDL Permits? Each State is Different Examples: Florida Tennessee Georgia Saltwater Pool - Herod s Palace At Caesarea Maritime

6 Florida MS4 Permits MS4 Permits have been issued to Cities, Counties (with cities as copermittees), and FDOT Districts 39 Phase I MS4s (includes Counties and Co permittees) 132 Phase II MS4s 14,887 currently active Construction General Permits Valley of Armageddon

7 Stormwater Discharge Compliance New in 2011 (Florida s Permits) For Adopted BMAPs Comply with Requirements For BMAPs Adopted within 2 years of Issuance Participate in BMAP Comply with Requirements For TMDLs by FDEP or EPA but no BMAP 4 year process to implementation Fecal Coliform TMDLs Bacteria Pollution Control Plan (BPCP) ID and Track Sources Pet Waste Ordinance Educational Programs Structural/Nonstructural BMPs (Worse case) BMAP = Basin Management Action Plan; a TMDL Implementation Plan

8 4 Year TMDL Implementation Process (Florida Permits) Prioritize List of TMDLs (6 months) Create Monitoring & Assessment Plan (Year 1) Done Collaboratively with Other Watershed Stakeholders Prioritize Outfalls for Structural & Nonstructural BMPs Loading for Each Outfall Estimated TMDL Monitoring Implementation (Years 2 and 3) Storm Event Monitoring 7 Events Each Site Modern Nazareth

9 4 Year TMDL Implementation Process (Florida Permits continued) TMDL Implementation Plan (Years 2 to 4) Modification of SWMP to Include New BMPs Identification Retrofit Projects BMP Effectiveness Monitoring Evaluation of Implementation Results in Annual Report Spring Source of Jordan River

10 Tennessee MS4 Permits MS4 Permits Issued in Tennessee 4 Phase I Permits 71 Phase 2 Permits Phase I Permits Knoxville Nashville Memphis Chattanooga Permit does not authorize discharges from any pollutant into any water for which a TMDL has been approved 7 Institutional Permits (e.g., UT) 1 TDOT Western Wall of Temple (Wailing Wall)

11 New Special Conditions for Tennessee MS4 Permits Approved TMDLs Permittee to determine if TMDL is applicable and related to stormwater (MS4) discharge For Stormwater discharges to EPA Approved or Established TMDLs Must implement pollutant reductions consistent with WLA SWMP must be modified accordingly BMPs Selected within 12 months of Permit Issuance and implemented in 24 months Monitoring activities required For new TMDLs, permittee has 6 months to identify and 12 months to implement new BMPs Caves of Qumran

12 New Special Conditions for Tennessee MS4 Permits Impaired Waters But No TMDL Permittee must document in SWMP BMPs and demonstrate that discharge will not contribute to the impairment Monitoring will be required Dead Sea from Masada

13 New Tennessee MS4 Monitoring for TMDLs Normal MS4 Ambient Monitoring Instream Biological Monitoring (Macroinvertebrates) Monitoring for Pathogen TMDLs (only once during the permit period) Watershed Characterization Monitoring Stormwater Mgmt BMP Monitoring Mount of Olives 2000 Year Old Tree

14 Georgia NPDES MS4 Permits MS4 Permits in Georgia 58 Phase I Permits 87 Phase II Permits 7 Federal Facilities 1 GDOT Waters of the State: Dome of the Rock Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells, and other bodies of surface or subsurface waters, natural or artificial, lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the State which are not entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single individual or corporation.

15 Georgia Permittee s Responsibilities Identify Impaired Waters near outfalls with pollutant of concern For Impaired Waters with TMDL: Implementation Plan: Description of BMPs to control and reduce pollutant of concern Monitoring Plan: Ambient monitoring or at outfalls Can demonstrate that Permittee does not cause or contribute to the impairment

16 Summary Burnt Wall of Jericho Newest NPDES MS4 Permits: Guidance provisions inserted as if they were regulations. Implementation of TMDLs must be done Prioritize TMDL projects While new provisions might improve water quality: What is regulatory or statutory authority? Is there a more effective alternative that achieves the same goal? Are you out of compliance upon acceptance of the permit?

17 Questions? Finally, a realist!